Comments

Hi Marcus, Thanks for your comment - good to hear from you. I don't have any systematic data to answer your question from but the sense I got from the 2014 campaign was that neither type of civil society had much impact on electoral collective action outside of Honiara (aid world funded NGOs may have had other influences via civic education campaigns and the like but these, while useful, won't change the fundamental clientelist nature of Solomons politics, I think). So, to answer your question, I don't think, at this point in time there's much practical difference between aid-world supported groups and more organic locally grown ones; but in the long run, I suspect it will be the home grown groups that bring the greatest hope for transformative change, while at the same time still believing that aid can do good in the meantime. Terence

Hi Max, Thanks for your comment. One thing to note of course is that many of the world's tax havens are not developing countries (the Cayman Islands, Jersey etc.). More broadly though, I agree with both you and Ms Bishop that we would live in a more equitable world if businesses couldn't tax shop amongst different countries. Terence

Also, one of the reasons large companies operate in developing nations is for the tax benefits. If you remove those benefits then the companies might not find it worthwhile going there. I can't help wondering if what she really means is that Australia is losing a lot of tax revenue from multinational giants and if they paid tax it would help the government budget deficit.

Hi Terence, and thanks for your excellent post. Your work in this area is fascinating and should be of great value to those interested in human development in Solomon Islands, as it goes to what I think is the nub of the issue - how do Solomon Islanders organize amongst themselves to pursue what they perceive to be their political interests. And likewise to Tess for your comments about FSII. I agree with you both that FSII appears to be a genuinely organic civil society group that appears to be coalescing and distilling supra-ethnic SI interests at a national level, something that to date has been mostly unheard of in the political history of modern SI. I also agree that this is a necessary part of SI's political development. I'd be interested to know if you have any comment around 'donor-certified' and 'donor-non-certified' civil society advocacy in SI, and their effect and reach in the recent SI election (donor-certified meaning donor-funded). In your fieldwork, did you pick up any data that reflected the influence and effects of such groups? And following, do you think there are pertinent issues around whether a group is 'certified' or non-certified', vis-à-vis their influence with grassroots citizens? Thanks again for your great post.

Hi Amos, I think it is a picture that many Papua New Guinean household do not want to see coming into the new year. Hopefully the leaders will embrace this otherwise gloomy future in a positive light as a challenge. I think this year is critical - it could be argued that there is still potential in the current administration to rectify some of these issues. Or probably not? Regards, Bal

This is very important for development sector and positive step taken by Asia Foundation. Yours Faithfully, Siba Pr.Pattojoshi,Secretary IYWW,MGO,ODISHA ,INDIA.

There was another flagship project, the ferry terminal at Ulee Lhue. The area has been restored and now a vibrant part of the Aceh economy, and the reconstruction of one of the most severely destroyed areas in Banda. Only 5,000 residents from the 35,000 prior to the Tsunami survived. LOGICA was a flagship project in addressing a core issue, namely governance

Thanks Tess, I agree: FSII are very interesting and promising (and in that they are not alone). I think in many ways the biggest challenge they will face will be whether they can elicit broad-based support in rural constituencies. If they could then possibly they might be a force for reform via the ballot box. It sounds like there is a fascinating comparative study to be done between the three countries' groups. Terence

Thanks for this post Terence. I think there is more to be said about the role of Forum Solomon Islands International. This started as a Facebook group but has developed in a relatively short space of time into something that is more like a 'real world' advocacy organisation/NGO. Its trajectory is interesting for a couple of reasons (in fact there are probably others). One is that it has acquired a significant level of domestic traction as demonstrated by the fact that PM Sogavare met with the leadership of this group in order to receive from them their 10-point policy wish list, which was crowd-sourced from the wider membership. The other point of interest is how this grouping has developed as compared with others that had a similar genesis such as Yumi Toktok Stret in Vanuatu and Sharp Talk in PNG.

"Perhaps now the State of PNG itself is in a State of Emergency". I am frightened by this conclusion at the bottom of the blog. Both of us see the same gloomy picture (you from Australia and me from PNG). I am praying that the oil price picks up soon. Thanks.

Interesting article. A more in-depth analysis on the reasons why overseas (seafarer and RSE) employment has declined would assist in developing the most suitable types of overseas employment opportunities. For example Vanuatu has increased RSE places because the type of work suits the Ni-Vanuatu who go and they are good at it. Interesting point about caring for older people from David - it would be useful to identify this and other potential areas of employment opportunity for i-Kiribati and Tuvalu that work for them in order to present feasible solutions.

Colin you are commended for the very interesting article. The District Authority Bill gives almost absolute powers to the open MPs in each district but on the other hand it seeks to empower the local people to take ownership of their development aspirations. On paper it is very attractive and promises so much good for the long suffering rural populace. However, my first impression is the authority in terms of decision making and voting for authority resolutions favours the Open MP as there will compose 7-members on the Board (generally as many districts are allowed by law for 3 LLGs each) of which three are nominated by the MP, 3 heads of the LLGs and the MP. Surely the nominated members will always take sides with the MP - absolute power and meetings are gimmicks to window dress illegal decisions. The other thing that comes to mind is that with this new approach should come the public restructuring reform so that each district's ability to deliver and implement is strengthened. It should not happen as in the past where any person in the district administration was appointed as a LLG Manager without proper qualification and experience to manage the affairs of the LLG. This has resulted in lack of proper development planning at ward and LLG level to communicate effectively to MPs to access some of the funds for the respective LLGs. Laws need to be worked on to safeguard the system. Rules need to be put in place whereby people abusing their roles and powers are dealt with appropriately and effectively. For instance an MP deemed to have misappropriated funds with overwhelming evidence should be refer to the police for criminal investigations rather than to Leadership Tribunal via those long processes. I would personally think that District Development Authorities is a way forward for the country and reiterate the PM's views. However, I am not party to his intentions implied but as I see and gather from public media and documents such as this.